It’s believed that Russians are fully loyal to their Motherland (Rodina) and it’s undeniably true, but also there is some kind of a contradiction, as Russians respect plenty of foreign things highly.

First of all, there is rather peculiar tendency of majority of Russians to think that neighbor’s grass is always greener. Immigrants from Europe or USA living in Russia are seen as weird people who left ‘pais de Cocaigne’. It’s like an axiom that abroad means better (I am not speaking about our guests from Middle Asia). Even tourists in Russia are held in great respect. Locals are usually very friendly to them and eager to help even more than their own tribesmen. I have experienced that myself, while walking around Moscow and Saint Petersburg with my foreign friends and on my own. Such a contrast! May be it’s Russian famous hospitality? Anyways, we are more hospitable to foreigners, as I observed.

This respect to foreigners also has something to do with an interest to everything unusual. And you know that Russia has been isolated for so long, so that these days all the external things seem unusual and attractive to us.

The other thing on the list of foreign stuff Russians like is imported goods. Since Soviet times foreign goods have been considered as desirable and hardly accessible. Just a half had changed. Today Russians are able to buy the goods of best world trademarks, anyone can order anything on the Internet, and we do that. The issue is that Russia doesn’t produce much. And even those goods of national production that we can find on the market are very often of poor quality. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that Russians like foreign goods.

As a result of this obsession with foreign goods, particularly food, even a meme appeared on the Internet. In translation it means: ‘Sorry, but you live in Russia’. It usually depicts an example of food that is not sold in Russia.

This obsession has started in 1980s, when the flow of Snickers, Coca-Cola, bubble gum, etc. broke in Soviet market. It was a beginning of the end :)

The technology of today allows people to see every corner of the world. Travelling became a kind of a mainstream and a piece of pop culture. And Russians joined the tendency. Outbound travelling (versus internal trips) is much more popular. It’s a new trend in Russian society, as before the frontier was closed for the majority of Soviet residents. Can you imagine how much Russians value this opportunity?

Moreover, according to population survey conducted in 2010 73% of Russians would immigrate from Russia to some nicer place. Doesn’t it prove their love to foreign stuff?